Full Metal Jacket (R)
Extremely graphic, violent Vietnam War film.
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Seen the movie?
Movie details
- Studio: Warner Bros.
- Directed By: Stanley Kubrick
- Cast: R. Lee Ermey, Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin
- Running Time: 117 minutes
- Release Date: 01/01/1987
- Video/DVD Release Date: 06/12/2001
- Genre: Drama
- MPAA Rating: R
- MPAA Explanation: violence
Parents need to know
Parents need to know that this is an extremely graphic and unblinking look at war, starting with Marine Corps basic training. This movie is not appropriate for kids. There is a lot of very strong language and very explicit violence, much of it shot in slow motion.
Families can talk about why the Marines are trained so harshly, and how it affects people to go through such grueling treatment. The realities of war, and the parallels to current events are also possible topics for discussion.
Families can talk about why the Marines are trained so harshly, and how it affects people to go through such grueling treatment. The realities of war, and the parallels to current events are also possible topics for discussion.
Message
Social Behavior:
Consumerism:
Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:
Violence
Very explicit violence, much of it shot in slow motion.
Sex
Language
Very strong language.
Common Sense says
What's the story?
Reviewed by Sarah Wenk
The opening sequence of FULL METAL JACKET is a long series of scenes of Marine Corps basic training at Parris Island, shows both the ways soldiers bond together and how they're driven apart by the brutal treatment they receive. Lee Emery is the drill sergeant to end all drill sergeants, and the soldiers under his command, who are soon known only by their nicknames -- Joker (Matthew Modine), Pyle (Vincent D'Onofrio), Cowboy (Arliss Howard) -- each react differently to the intense and often cruel training regime. Once in Vietnam, they are thrown into an unpopular war that they don't really understand, fighting an enemy who refuses to play by the rules.
Is it any good?
Although this is a film about the Vietnam War, it could just as easily be about current events. The ugly realities of war, and what soldiers have to go through before they even get there, are a timeless theme, and Full Metal Jacket looks at the whole picture.
There isn't a lot of plot -- the soldiers go from training to war and they fight for their lives -- but the relationships among the men and the extremity of the situation they're in are riveting. The film captures both the excitement and the tedium of war, but ultimately loses something by not having a stronger storyline and a stronger leading man. Modine is a good actor, but he is something of a cipher here. We don't know enough about him to care deeply for him, but he is the moral center of the film. It's a well-made film that is powerful and still relevant, but it somehow doesn't quite deliver what it seems it could. Also, it's way too violent for kids, so share this one with older teens only.
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Parents and kids say
All Reviews
There are 4 reviews.
Adult Reviews
There are 1 reviews.
Kids Reviews
There are 3 reviews.
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